Cold Weather Calls for Warm Jackets
by D3m0nDarks
Summary: Freed gets a little cold on a mission... short Fraxus One-shot


It was cold. Bitterly so. The wind howled, and buffeted its icy flakes against the greenette's face. The said rune mage shuddered and rubbed his arms, wishing he had brought a few extra layers.

It was a simple quest, just to defeat a snow Vulcan that had been coming down and terrorizing the nearby village, but it paid well. Freed had made some runes to trap the Vulcan, but by the time he had finished, his fingers were too stiff from the cold to make a rune to keep him and Laxus warm.

Laxus was the one that chose the quest, but had only taken Freed with him, saying the rune mage was all he needed. Evergreen was too busy anyway, claiming she had a date with some "unknown" man. Upon further investigation, Elfman also had plans for that evening, but refused to share what he was doing. But even when the guild members put two and two together, they still denied any claims and accusations made about the two of them.

Bixlow accepted a "secret mission" from Mira. He claimed to have been sworn to secrecy, but those who knew Mira could tell she had bribed him to follow his teammate on her date and take pictures. Not even her own brother was safe from Mira's matchmaking.

Another blistering cold breeze brought Freed back to the present. He breathed hot air onto his hands, rubbing them together to create more friction, and then running them up and down his arms in a feeble attempt to warm them as much as possible in this temperature.

"You cold?" Freed blinked in surprise, looking over at the Dragon Slayer. Laxus was staring at the space where the rune was hidden. He didn't seem to be bothered by the weather in the least bit. Then again, electricity did generate heat, so it was probably possible for the Raijinshuu leader to regulate his own body heat like Natsu.

"Y-Yeah." The mage replied, knowing if he lied his chattering teeth would give him away.

Without saying anything, Laxus slipped off his jacket and set it on the ground next to him. "Come here." Freed did as told, scooting over until he was seated right next to his leader.

Quick as lightning, the Dragon Slayer scooped up his teammate, settling him on his lap before the greenette had a chance to complain. Snatching his favorite jacket from the ground beside him, he settled it on the younger boy's shoulders.

"L-Laxus, i-isn't this a l-little awkward, I-"

"It's warm, right?" The slayer interrupted.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then quit complaining. I can't have my second-in-command freezing to death. And on such an easy mission, too."

Freed nodded in understanding, but smiled to himself. Despite his cold demeanor, Laxus cared a lot about his teammates. Those who knew him, however, knew he used logic to cover up anything that might come as concern. But no matter how much he tried to justify his actions, his team knew the little things he did was because he cared.

"Get some sleep," the elder mage ordered, "I can't smell it anywhere nearby, it may take a few hours more."

"Alright... Thank you, Laxus." Freed smiled as the blonde simply let out a grunt.

Shifting in his leader's lap, the rune expert rested his head on the slayer's shoulder. Laxus was indeed very warm, as was the jacket covering him. Within moments, Freed was deep asleep.

* * *

The Raijinshuu leader had been correct. It had taken a few more hours of waiting until the Vulcan showed up. When it had, it quickly got trapped in the rune barrier, and served justice by Laxus' hand. It was an extremely easy mission; a little too so.

"Laxus... Why did you pick such a simple job?" The green-haired mage inquired as they walked the streets if Magnolia.

The blonde was silent for a moment. "No reason. I guess 'cuz Ever and Bixlow were busy, so I wouldn't want to go on a better mission without them."

The Raijinshuu member frowned. Laxus hadn't found out about Evergreen's date until after he invited Freed on the job. It was obvious the blonde was lying, but the greenette decided not to bring it up.

The two mages stopped, coming to a halt at the intersection where they went their separate ways. The younger one slipped off the jacket he only just remembered was still wrapped around his shoulders. "Thanks for lending me your jacket. I've never seen you give it to anyone before."

"No problem. I don't let many people wear it, but I couldn't let you freeze..."

Freed nodded. "Well... I'll see you tomorrow I guess."

Laxus smiled, a rare sight. "Yeah. See you." As the rune mage began to walk away, the Dragon Slayer called out to him. His teammate turned, looking back in confusion. The blonde grinned at him. "You look cute in my jacket." And with that, he turned away, leaving a flustered Freed standing in the street.


End file.
